Hot Topics:

Bialecki bullish on Middlesex 3 Coalition

By Rick Sobey, rsobey@lowellsun.com

Updated:
03/28/2014 09:56:33 AM EDT

Greg Bialecki, secretary of Housing and Economic Development, praised the Middlesex 3 Coalition's economic- development efforts during the panel discussion on Wednesday in Bedford. Watch Tout video on this story at lowellsun.com. SUN/Rick Sobey

BEDFORD -- The Middlesex Route 3 corridor has gone from the "new kids on the block" to the strongest marketplace off Route 128 in the last decade, the state's secretary of Housing and Economic Development said Wednesday.

But municipal leaders from the Middlesex 3 Coalition emphasized during the economic-development conference in Bedford that more work still needs to be done to help continue growing the region and promoting business development in Lowell, Billerica, Chelmsford, Bedford and Burlington.

Regional transportation needs were among the major topics discussed by municipal leaders and state officials at the DoubleTree by Hilton on Wednesday. With a significant lack of coordinated public transit in the area, the Middlesex 3 Coalition's leaders said they've been working to deliver an easier way for people to get to and from work.

"We want to work with businesses to create more connections to get workers up here," said Richard Reed, Bedford's town manager and president of the Middlesex 3 Coalition.

Robert Buckley, senior partner at Riemer & Braunstein and vice president of the Middlesex 3 Coalition, touted the recent Community Innovation Challenge state grant that the five municipalities received for transportation. The $147,000 will help coordinate transportation resources for businesses and residents to "move people along the corridor," Buckley said.

Advertisement

Greg Bialecki, secretary of Housing and Economic Development, praised Middlesex 3's efforts during the panel discussion, which was attended by developers, business leaders and educators. Ten years ago, Bialecki said the identity of the business community off Route 128 was focused on Waltham, but that's not the case anymore.

"You were the new kids on the block, trying to prove yourselves back then," Bialecki said. "Now, based on the success seen in the last few years, this is really the strongest marketplace off 128 and that's been well-received and acknowledged in the development community and business community.

"And that's a great testament to all the work you've done together," he added.

But Bialecki said more priorities still need to be addressed. The region must move toward a place where a significant number of workers and residents travel without a car, Bialecki emphasized.

Billerica Town Manager John Curran pointed out the shuttle service that was started in Billerica's Technology Park last year. E Ink Corp., which develops electronic paper that is used in the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook, moved from Cambridge to Billerica's Technology Park last year, and Middlesex 3 helped launch a bus-shuttle service from Boston, where many E Ink employees live.

Middlesex 3 is now hoping to expand this transportation idea to other companies in the region, Curran said.

Theresa Park, Lowell's economic development director, also highlighted the city's economic potential with industrial space off the Lowell Connector, saying there will be "tremendous change in the next 10 years."

The long-underutilized Comfort Bedding and Furniture mill building on Thorndike Street was recently acquired by Sal Lupoli, whose company took a dilapidated mill complex in Lawrence and has turned it into more than a million square feet of mixed-use space. Lupoli, of Chelmsford, has said he envisions a mixed-use development of retail, restaurants, offices and market-rate housing at the Lowell site.

Other panel speakers on Wednesday included Evan Belansky, Chelmsford's community-development director, and Burlington Town Administrator John Petrin.

The conference ended with networking among municipalities, developers and business leaders, connecting on regional opportunities and available resources in each Middlesex 3 community.

For information on Middlesex 3, contact Stephanie Cronin at 978-808-5281 or info@Middlesex3.com.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.